Face-up's... overseas or same country

Are you more inclined to hire an artist that lives in your country?
Yes. I specifically wanted someone in the same country to avoid any cross-border/customs-related mailing issues.

Have you sent a doll overseas before?
Nope. Haven't bought one from overseas, either.

Did it take a long time for the mailing process?
Not at all.

Customs fees
None.

Shipping fees
As expected.

Lost in the mail
Not a problem.

Wrong address
Not a problem.

Did you have separation anxiety?
Well, yeah, a bit...I missed my girls while they were gone. They looked awesome when they were sent back, though, so it was sorth it!

Was there a language barrier?
Nope.

Not being able to express what you want
I had no problem with that.

 

Are you more inclined to hire an artist that lives in your country?
I have to admit that I didn't even look into who might be available in Canada -- I knew of a particular artist in the US whose work I had seen and who I knew could do a great job. I've found a few Canadian face-up artists through looking at the work here and I might try one of them in future although the artist who does my face ups is so good, I'd be willing to risk shipping mishaps and customs duties to have her do stuff for me.
Have you sent a doll overseas before?
Not overseas but out of the country -- so there were mailing costs involved in getting the head there and getting it back. But as I just sent the head it wasn't all that much either way.

Did it take a long time for the mailing process?
No longer than I would have thought it should.

Customs fees
This is the one draw back of getting my face ups done out of Canada -- I have always paid duty when the head (which I have already paid for and likely paid duty on when it first arrived) arrives.


Lost in the mail, wrong address etc.
Never been a problem.

Not being able to express what you want
The artist I work with always asks very good questions if I've not given her much direction -- and as she's such a creative person, she can offer suggestions as well. As I said above, I've never been disappointed in her work.

 

I've never sent out my doll for a face-up.. And probably wont.. XD
I don't know which I'd rather prefer.. It probably wouldn't matter to me. And I would just pick someone who I really liked the style of their face-up.
But I think I would rather prefer to get good enough to do face-ups myself.. If it'd not be the default of the doll. > u<)b

 

Are you more inclined to hire an artist that lives in your country?
Yes, because the shipping fees can be killer! While I prefer to stick closer to home, I look at the artist's style and if I decide that this is it, I'll shell out the extra $$$.

Have you sent a doll overseas before?
Yes. I've sent once to China and I currently have one in France and one en route to Australia.

Did it take a long time for the mailing process?
It takes a little longer in the mail but not too bad. However, I've gotten hit with customs fees and it hurt as I'd listed the full price of the doll. So far, cross my fingers, nothing's been lost or sent to the wrong address, but I always keep mine insured just in case!

Did you have separation anxiety?
No, not if I knew they were safe! It's the voyage to and from their destination that worries me.

Was there a language barrier?
Yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean bad communication! I have four heads out currently for face-ups and I'd have to say, the one artist who doesn't speak English fluently has been the best communicator.

 

I prefer to do my face-ups myself, but if I have to commission someone (in the case I want something very specific I can't do myself), I would HAVE to send it abroad XD Apart from me and my best friend, I only know of like...4-5 other people with BJDs in my country and none have face-up shops :P

 

Are you more inclined to hire an artist that lives in your country?
Me and my best friend are the only ones in my country that do faceups... we're way too few over here. So if I want to commission a faceup from someone it has to be from somewhere out of the country anyway; I don't get a choice.

Have you sent a doll overseas before?
Yes. I've only ever sent one doll out because between myself and my friend I'm completely satisfied with our skill and level but for that one doll, he was so peculiar I just had to send out. He's on his way to Indonesia right now.

Did it take a long time for the mailing process?
I don't think it should. Usually things I send out registered arrive within a week or two at most no matter where they're headed.

Did you have separation anxiety?
No, not really. But I am a little nervous/excited to see how he turns out! He is my penultimate grail doll after all!

Was there a language barrier?
Yes, but communication has so far been nothing but friendly and wonderful and the artist speaks English well enough so there's no problem at all!

 

Are you more inclined to hire an artist that lives in your country? Yes. I trust USPS more in my country than internationally.

Have you sent a doll overseas before? no.

Did it take a long time for the mailing process? N/A Only shipped in the US. Longest it's ever taken me to ship a doll was almost 2 weeks, when one took a detour.

Did you have separation anxiety? Always! But not for the two I sent out for faceups. (More commonly, I send them to stay with RP friends) The first, technically was a Christmas gift, and my husband ordered him early so he could be shipped out and finished before the holiday. So he technically wasn't my doll yet, and was only gone for a couple of weeks anyway. The second was being painted by a trusted friend, and he got a lot of pictures with her dolls as well, so it was fun seeing what he was "doing" while away. :P I also sent my girl out for modding, but by the time I sent her, my bond was so weak because she wasn't "right" that I actually didn't miss her. The mods made her "right" and I loved her SO much more after she got back.

Was there a language barrier? No, I've only sent my dolls to people who speak the same language.


Please feel free to mention anything else. I do all of my own faceups now, and I don't think I'll be sending any more dolls out. It's how I bond. But IF I were to send one out, it would have to be to an artist who has a great rep, works fast (as in, under 3 weeks) and is in my country so I wouldn't have to worry about customs, international shipping, fees, etc.

 

I think that a face-up is a good investment for a doll so yea, two of my dolls that I'm getting are going to be sent overseas for their faceups. One is probably going to UK and the other is going to Thailand. I have commissioned someone from Canada too. The wait was bad but at the same time, it was understandable.

I am not *that* worried about lost mail since I can always get tracking to and from. Also, seeing how many times between my boyfriend and I received items from Japan, I've never had anything lost on me